Latter Ages
by Cryshalo
Summary: Ch 2 up. Sora is training hard to live up to his friend's expectations. Kairi is haunting his dreams, helping him deal with the crushing stress of the Keyblade's responsiblities. These are the Latter Ages.
1. Prologue

Kingdom Hearts  
Latter Ages

Part i "Prologue"

_And that which moved within the Fallow world that lays beyond death, underneath the natural world, beyond its laws and natural strictures, saw the corruption and the perversion spread out before it. "Behold," it declared, "I will raise my hand against you and bring forth war, strife and great loss of life. This you will have brought upon yourself for I shall bind you with the chains your brothers forge." And so he sent his minions forth into the natural world and terrible works were wrought, as is written elsewhere. But the Kingdom Heart became aware of this evil and created the Keyblades, which had the power to occult or to manifest. Each of them chose a master as it would._

Some nine years past the Heartless burst forth back into living memory. It started in a dim cluster of worlds known as the Lidded Eye constellation, where science unrestrained by compassion broke the Divides separating worlds and let the shadows run riot. The stream of refugees from the bloodletting in the Lidded Eye alerted other worlds and other constellations to the coming danger. Despite their preparations, however, they could not hold the Heartless everywhere. The horror of worlds being enveloped in darkness was seen for the first time. Efforts were redoubled and the Heartless were halted for a year.

Technology and trade flourished for a time, fostered by the new discovery of gummi blocks and gummi ships, which they termed runners. The discovery that other worlds were out there, within reach, was society-shaking as people interacted with the unique cultures to be found around them. But there was also peril in the divides, as the space between the worlds was called. Heartless runners, oftentimes bizarre and birdlike, plied these divides as well and many explorers and traders met their ends. But the human condition lends itself to intrepid adventurers, profit makers and knowledge seekers. In those first two years, many bold men crisscrossed the divides and unwittingly laid the ground work for the pacts that would help defend life in the coming years.

In some constellations, such as the neighbouring Near Reaches or the Falconer, multi-world governments came into being as people banded together for protection and to explore the vast new frontier presented to them. These were mainly worlds that had long traditions of central governments. For them an inter-world government, with individual worlds becoming states in a union, was just a logical next step. The umbrella of protection this provided brought many worlds together.

However, in the worlds of the Lidded Eye, there was little tradition of central governments and the concept was usually deeply resisted. The world of Kingdom, a monarchy as the name suggested, was one of the few exceptions. Each world had its own way of governing (or not, as the case may be), usually simply matters like town councils, tribal elders, chambers of commerce and town halls, bodies with little coercive power. These had served well in peaceful times, but with the predations of the Heartless the situation had changed. Now there was a need to raise militias and runners and to train mystics and magi for war. Disparate towns and worlds, and their respective services and agencies, needed to be coordinated as well.

What sprang up to fill the gap was the concept of Port Authorities. Though methods of appointment and direction of the PA differed from world to world, the efforts of the first generation of adventurers created this system as a sort of interface between worlds, fostering coordination. The harrowing tales of refugees and the destruction of worlds convinced almost all of the need for everyone to work together against the Heartless. Theirs was always a loose coalition, but a very flexible one. A common system of officer ranks was established along with agreed protocols for sending expeditions to aid each other and clear out trouble spots.

After two years had passed the Heartless were renewed and went forth. The Free Humans, as they referred to themselves, defended their worlds desperately. They were horrified to find, however, that some people were lost to become powerful Heartless, overcome by their own fear, malice and hatred towards their fellows. They were the seedy, the over-emotional, the sadistic. Even so, they were brothers and sisters, and people were horrified to see them become potent enemies.

Before the third year had passed, an unexpected and terrible development manifested itself. Some human worlds had made pacts with the Heartless, whether out of their own desire for power or simply hoping to be out of the line of fire. Who they made these pacts with, or what they entailed, was unclear, but many mystics debated terrible theories. These Traitors, as the Free Humans quickly labeled them, integrated the Heartless into their own forces, forming hidden bases, warbands, and even invading hosts. Some of the larger groups, such as that headed by Maleficent, the Lady of the Tower, led all-out attacks on other worlds, especially those they saw as a threat. The mixture of Heartless fodder and violence combined with human guile was deadly and many worlds in many constellations were destroyed, their bounty carried off and their people scattered on the trade routes or on the streams of the Fallow to havens.

When a world was destroyed by the Heartless, darkness consumed it. It was taken from the natural world and into the layer that the mystics called the Fallow and the scientists called the Substrata. Across almost all worlds, it was already known of to some extent and usually featured in religious or spiritual lore or ceremony. It was this dimension that held the souls of those who had died and from which the souls of those who were born came from. The people who were stranded on a world that was destroyed were left in this spiritual place. Those that had strong Hearts were carried back into the natural world, cropping up again where the links between the natural world and the Fallow were strongest. The weaker Hearts, however, were lost in the Fallow, stranded amongst the dead.

Five worlds received the lion's share of the refugees, becoming the hubs of the defence against the Heartless and those who would use them. Traverse, Kingdom, Exeter, Renaissance and Dulcimer each grew vastly with the weight of refugees. The concentration of these survivors, all of them strong of heart and full of a stern determination to stop the Heartless, meant that even as the Heartless made progress, they made their opposition stronger. It was a perverse calculus. Other worlds began shipping excess food to these worlds and in return, these five worlds mounted expedition after expedition to defend other worlds. For the next seven years, there was not a fortnight in which a citizen of each of these worlds, new or old, did not die in the line of battle.

Attacks on shippingwere constant, so they developed a convoy system. Where they had Foray Forces for combat expeditions, now also there were Transit Forces for each trade route. They built 'buoys', stationary fortified gummi waystations. These were crewed by volunteers or alternating shifts between the different mercenary firms, direct products of the fight against the Heartless. The firms worked to consolidate and train those men and women who wanted to dedicate their lives to the cause.

These were bloody times and in the inchoate society that existed in the beginning, those who seized the moment and provided examples to follow found themselves catapulted to great fame and equally great danger. King Mickey of Kingdom became a beacon of hope, as he led his people to shepherd other worlds. But newer heroes also arose, many of them refugees from the first outbreak, finding new reasons to live in taking the fight to the Heartless. Irvine and Zell of Exeter rose to great prominence in that beautiful city of technology, forging agreements where there had been none. In Renaissance, Quistis was a fixer, on the boards of the Port Authority and their Civic Council, making things work. Celes in turn led the world's warriors into the fray, earning great renown. Yuna, Rikku and Paine worked in Dulcimer, dealing with their PA and the citizen assembly. Yuna's persuasive voice and dedication led to her election as head _strategoi_, chairman of the Port Authority, whilst Rikku gathered information and Paine led raids and operations.

But the most famous, relentless and dedicated of those who had yet arisen were Aeris Gainsborough and Leon Loire of Traverse Town. From the very beginning they had recognised the danger and spearheaded the Port Authorities and the forays. They worked and lived together, so intertwined were their goals. Aeris was a Natural Mystic and created the massive wards that protected Traverse Town, the first of their kind. She harnessed the runner fleets of Traverse and quickly became noted as Traverse's most senior and qualified naval leader, their first Senior Commander. In a mirror of Aeris, Leon's martial prowess grew ever stronger, as did his strategic thinking. He became the first Senior Commander for ground operations, leading hundreds and even thousands of men and women to the defence of other worlds. In addition, they led most of the research into the nature of the Heartless and their long-term prospects.

In the course of their research, they uncovered knowledge of the Keyblade, said to lock the keyhole of a world and make it safe against the Heartless, preventing them from being able to destroy a world. It was also said to be a weapon of unparalleled power, fostering unnaturally quick growth and learning in its bearer. Ancient texts and references from the original team of scientists that worked on the Heartless and Gummis spoke of this, and of a mysterious agency known as Kingdom Hearts, which was said to have created these weapons long ago. And though they researched all the harder, they could find no clue as to its whereabouts, except that it would appear again when the need had arisen. And so they waited and waited, beginning to lose faith as one year spread into two, and two into four and so on until nine years had passed. Over the years, the bloodshed had been near-constant. Traitor groups rose and fell and worlds died under the Heartless, but the fight still ground on.

But then, over nine years after the Heartless were unleashed, the Keyblader surfaced. Leon, who was cautious by nature, tested him and saw potential in his heart. King Mickey, who also knew of the Keyblades and had even received one which, though very destructive to the Heartless, did not seem to affect keyholes at all, sent his Court Wizard and Court Knight to aid the new Keyblader. They were his two best friends and most trusted advisors. But despite their skeptical starts, Aeris and Leon, as well as their allies Yuffie, Locke, Xu and Nida, saw the potential as Sora immediately took the fight to the Heartless. For the first time in months, a High Shadow had been discovered in Traverse Town, but Sora was on the scene first. With Donald and Goofy, they launched into an attack together that would seal Aeris and Leon's faith in him.

_One world lies beside another_

_And all hearts will know each other_

_Within every heart is darkness_ _In every mind is cruelty_

_In that despair breathes the Heartless_

The last clumsy blow finally imparted enough energy. The Heartless' grasp upon this mortal coil weakened and vanished. Sora stumbled back and heaved great breaths, keyblade scraping upon the ground. His companions likewise stumbled away from the radiant monolith that had been their foe. Wisps of energy ascended like smoke from a fire as the heart came free.

Head swimming with uncertainties and fatigue, Sora stumbled and fell. His last sight before darkness claimed him for a time was of the heart shaped apparition departing the enemy and disappearing into the night sky.

Feelings of elation suffused him and drowned out the cold of the cobblestones.

_Victory_

_Honour_

_Splendour_

_And now … for Kairi…and Riku_

_Your hands _are_ their hands; your thoughts _are_ their thoughts. Horrors standing between your worlds. In death they live and hope they break. They have no name but that you grant._


	2. Learning I, Ch I Wake up

Kingdom Hearts

Latter Ages

Part I "Learning"

Chapter I "Wake-up"

_They are the horrors at your gate, that which should not be and yet is._

_By your fear shall they know your heart, and by your own hate master you._

One eye crept open, to be followed by another. Uncertainty preceded memory as the blue-eyed boy returned to wakefulness. The bed shifted underneath him as a weight depressed it. Sora's pupils dilated as he adapted to the well-lit room and turned towards the new arrival.

A girl's voice came to his ears. "Great timing, you lazy bum. You've got a strange habit of fainting, you know? At least you do it _after_ you beat the other guy, though."

_What a cheeky grin…_he grumbled to himself. "Yuffie?" he guessed hesitantly, recalling the name through a haze. Like a fog descends on a vale in the morning, to be rolled back by sunlight, Sora's mind was yet under the fog, slowly rolling back as he awoke.

The girl's voice returned streaked with mirth and a laugh like the tinkling of bells. "Hey! You got it!" Surprise had coloured her voice, but she suppressed it and favoured a confident tone. "Well, of course you did. I am the Great Ninja Yuffie, after all. Who could forget such a face?" Sora felt sure there was a wink in there somewhere, out of his sight.

_She's so up-herself, too!_ Sora fought down a grimace of aggravation and began to sit up. His eyes glanced about with curiosity. The room was beige and green in colour. The décor was done in a series of styles, as if the designer was struck by indecision. Yuffie sat on the side of the bed, perched with the flawless balance of a cat. Her bright eyes sparkled with laughter as she regarded him. "What happened?" he asked her with a frown.

"You fainted … again," supplied Yuffie. "You've got quite a talent for it. Pity you aren't as good at dodging blows as you are fainting." Her lips were spread in a great teasing smile as she leaned closer. Yuffie was akin to a pixie. Every gesture she made, every motion seemed backed by boundless energy and enthusiasm. Her step always had a spring in it and she was sure-footed, for Yuffie's training in childhood had given her a great situational awareness. Yuffie and mischief ever walked hand-in-hand. She dressed recklessly, she flirted outrageously with the boys and her only thought in combat was to go in full tilt. She was also an adept thief. The sight of her ribbons whipping with the wind of her passage was a presage to trouble. Yet there could, at times, be seen a hint of older sadness, of wounds half-healed. Yuffie seemed to stand on the cusp of maturity, like a flower starting to blossom. She wanted to stride forth and be accounted a peer amongst adults, yet she felt the allure of restraining herself to her carefree immaturity.

Sora couldn't help but arc up to the slight. "Hey! That's not fair, I beat that guy!" _Same as last time, waking up in a Hotel room …better then the alley I guess._

"Yes, but that was the weakest Heartless Champion we've seen in a long time. Chances are you'll never have a fight that easy again, kiddo."

"Kiddo?" Sora grumbled, somewhat petulantly.

"No challenge to someone of _my_ standards but … don't worry, we'll teach you what you need to know. If you want to learn?" challenged Yuffie, with yet another of her seemingly inexhaustible smirks.

"I don't see why I have to learn anything from you…" growled Sora.

Yuffie laughed and Sora's eyes narrowed angrily. "You don't get it, do you, Sora? You have natural talent but no real skills. And you have no choice!" she crowed, taking a childish delight in Sora's quandary. She knew the danger was too great for any other course.

Unbeknownst to Sora, Leon had entered into the room after Yuffie. He only announced his presence after a long period of observation. "You have been chosen by the Keyblade. No matter what you do, the Keyblade will return to you. And when it does, the Heartless who march upon you will be legion; such is their desire for its possession and your destruction. Your only hope lies in using that weapon against them."

Sora's gaze turned towards the dark figure by the doorway. The man leaned against the wall, his posture shut in against himself. He was a grim apparition, clad darkly, largely in leather and bore a feeling of ever-ready violence, only temporarily restrained. Leon, or Squall as he was once known, smelled of earth and exertion. His thigh length leather jacket bore patched up claw marks, scorch marks and faint rusty stains that had refused to come out. The man's gaze was that of a predator, peering into the shadows as he stalked. Yet Sora felt unafraid of this warrior, for his heart assured him that Leon was, though supremely dangerous, loyal and steadfast and his exertions well directed.

"And your only hope in doing that will be to listen to us!" said Yuffie. 'Perked' may have been a better word then 'said' though, so diabolically chirpy was her voice.

"Yuffie, stop picking on him," ordered Aeris calmly from the doorway. "He did us all a great favour in destroying that Heartless. You might ease up on the jealousy." Poise marked her entrance to the room. Arms swayed lightly like a tree in a breeze and her beatific smile illuminated the room as she regarded the young Keyblader with kind eyes. "How do you feel, Sora?"

Sora shook off his lethargy and put his legs over the side of the bed. Anxious to one-up the teasing of the young ninja he stretched his arms as nonchalantly as he could manage. "I feel fine. Right as rain," he smiled.

"That's good to hear!" answered Aeris with a broad smile. Cautiously her eyes narrowed and she regarded him sharply. "You wouldn't lie to me would you?"

"Uh … of course not!" protested Sora.

At his claim of innocence, Aeris relaxed, settling her weight on one foot, her left hand holding her right arm behind her. Though her pose seemed soft and girlish, there was an air about her that belied this first impression. Perhaps it was the definition in her arms speaking of wiry strength. Or perhaps it was the two spidery scars far back on the right cheek that spoke of battles won and lost. Though her raiment was pink and light, her upper arms were still guarded by mithril bands and the stave that hung from a loop of string on her back was certainly not for walking. But more than anything else, it was the way that her gaze seemed to pierce all. She seemed completely aware of her surroundings. She felt fey, present yet remote, and her caring demeanour was offset by the nagging feeling that these hands that healed were also hands that could destroy.

Snickering prompted a glare in Yuffie's direction. "Don't trust him, Aeris…." Aeris gestured for her to be quiet, though, saving Sora the vein he was about to burst.

"We aren't going to force you to go or to stay; it is entirely your choice what happens from here," assured Aeris. "Your best bet though, is to stay here a time so we can prepare you. Yuffie, however rude, is essentially right. You'll need to know how to use that Keyblade, how to fight, to sneak, to dodge and how to use magic."

"Magic?" asked Sora. Surprise rebounded through his system. This latest turn was a great surprise. _Is magic real here? Can _I_ use magic?_ Each question reverberated in his mind as he laughed in thought.

"Yes, I can teach you magic. The basics will have to suffice; there is not much time to teach you," lamented Aeris, a touch of sadness adorning her eyes.

"The enemy forces near Traverse Town are weak," declared Squall. "You'll have some breathing space to learn. You'll also run into other allies of ours who can help complete your training. Be careful whom you lay trust in, though. The agents of the Heartless infest all worlds."

Yuffie leaned close to Sora, "You were so lazy you slept right through the day. It's nighttime now." Sora pushed Yuffie away from himself. The ninja laughed at him as she gave ground.

The dark haired man looked out the room's window in guarded contemplation. "That may be a good thing. Traverse Town is crowded in daylight. Here in night we can move about more easily and attract less attention. Like I said, the agents of the Heartless infest all worlds."

Stars danced and glittered in the night-time sky like a vast theatre of potential. Each star a world, each world a home to anywhere from hundreds to tens of thousands of individuals or more. Within each of them was a wealth of opportunity and potential, life and experience. But no matter who or what they and their worlds might be, there was no hiding before the coming of the tide.

Sora sat at the Café in First District with Donald and Goofy, sipping tea under the dancing of the lantern light. Three settings were placed at the table, bread and butter and a plate of braised chicken and rice in the centre. Or at least it had been; the three had been constraining ravenous appetites and the chicken had not lasted long under such gusto. Sated by the dish they sipped tea to wind down and got to know who they had been partnered with.

"So … what's the King like?" asked Sora hesitantly.

Donald replied in that peculiar … 'accent' that was his trademark. "He's the greatest mouse in all the worlds. He's brilliant, and strong and smart and…."

"Swell?" suggested Goofy, which earned a torrent of abuse. "Was only trying to help," defended the somewhat slow-of-mind knight. "And he is a swell guy."

Exasperated, Sora sighed, rubbing his brow gently. "Sorry I asked. Does the Kingdom fight against the Heartless?"

"Gawrsh, we sure do!" said Goofy while Donald looked around nervously.

Not noticing any glances in their direction among the sparse crowd, he relaxed. "Don't say that in public! Anyone can listen," he half-spoke, half-quacked. "Spies are no joke; they were nearly the death of Queen Minnie!"

"Oh," said Sora, eyes wide with shock. "How long have they been around?"

"About eight years … I think," said Donald.

"You think?" asked Sora with a quirked eyebrow.

Goofy furrowed his brow in thought, pulling down at his lower lip with a finger in an idle mannerism. "Well it was kinda a slow thing. We aren't too sure just when they all popped up."

"That's why we want the Ansem Report," reminded Donald pointedly. "That's what we're supposed to be doing!"

Sora glared at the virulent duck. "Hey, it's not _my_ fault they want to train me up first. Why don't you just do some searching of your own, if you don't want to wait?"

Quacking in protest Donald shook his head. "That wasn't what…"

"Gee, that's a good idea Sora. Donald, we can get some leads on what's out there while Sora trains up. That way, when he's ready, we won't have to wait around."

"Oh, don't be such an idiot, ya big palooka," shrugged off Donald, Goofy's ideas rolling off the duck's back like the proverbial water. The concept of Goofy having a good idea was so foreign to Donald he rarely listened to him anymore.

"Hey, that's a good idea, Goofy. Don't be such a jerk, Donald," complained Sora with a child's inborn displeasure at unfairness. "Besides, you'll need something to keep you busy while I'm working."

Donald would have ranted; he would have raved. There were many things he would have done if he could just summon the wherewithal to open his bill. Having someone not only disagree so completely with him and agree with Goofy completely unsettled him. It all but contradicted one of the core tenets of his personal belief system.

At a table nearby, Aeris and Squall were nursing drinks as well, tea and coffee, near the boundary of the café, keeping vigilant watch. Yuffie had been and gone, to who knew where. The adults who were left discussed the training of the new charge upon whom their hopes now lay. As well, they waited for Cid Highwind, an old friend and comrade, a master of machines, especially those that flew.

"We'll have to pool our talent to do this," advised Aeris.

"To an extent," was Squall's unenthusiastic concession. "But only an extent. We each have our own areas of expertise after all, within those we can teach. But outside of those it would be best to step aside for someone more qualified."

Aeris gazed at Squall coolly. "So certain of your skills as a teacher, Leon?"

"My skills at teaching swordplay? Maybe no, but I am confident of your skill to pass along your magical skills. Our tasks are similar in goal; establish a framework he can hang new skills from."

Aeris dunked a biscuit and bit into it. "That's sound. I was planning on spending most of my time teaching Sora the Spiritbase. If he masters that, all other learning becomes a simple addition, rather then a foray into a new experience. And when they're journeying, Court Mage Donald can follow up my instructions."

"Lucky you," said Squall. "I just have Goofy to follow up on Sora's training. I can only hope he comes across our old allies. Those that are yet still alive out there. Some of them were gifted with edges."

"I'm sure they're all fine," Aeris reassured. She glanced at Squall from over her tea. "Have you heard the rumours of the Wandering Angel?"

"Don't talk to me about it, Aeris. It isn't something I can…" Squall abruptly trailed off and looked away, leaning back. Aeris looked at Squall sadly but said nothing.

"Goofy? A good idea? You're _crazy_," continued the duck. Forty minutes had passed since the airing of Goofy's suggestion. The duck had yet to let up on the subject. He knew it was a good idea, but it was also Goofy's idea. The resultant quandary made him indecisive, so he prevaricated.

It was also really getting on Sora's nerves.

"Would you let _up_!? It's a real good idea, Donald. You know what, too? It's two against one, you lose." Sora was aware of the rage bubbling away within him and was imagining all forms of painful ends for Donald; many included meals. Thinking more carefully, Sora decided this was a poor path to be walking, especially if they would have to deal with each other for an extended period of time. He began to formulate some words that were conciliatory in nature. Thirteen discarded statements passed without result, proving the task harder then he'd expected.

"Gawrsh, you two sure are being mean," worried Goofy. Sora narrowly suppressed the urge to snap at him. Donald didn't, however. "Now, Donald, that's not nice at all!"

Sora was suppressing chuckles at Donald's irate 'witticism' when he got cold shivers. He went still for a moment then looked about. They were in the more rickety parts of Second District, behind the hotel, thanks to some efforts at exploring. It was completely empty, which immediately twigged a danger sense. One thing Sora had already learned about Traverse Town; it may have quiet moments but there were always at least _some_ people around. The number of refugees moving in was simply astounding and should Traverse Town ever lose its links to nearby agrarian worlds there would be a humanitarian catastrophe.

"Guys, something feels wrong here," cautioned Sora. Donald looked about ready to give him another verbal backhand when the court mage apparently felt it as well. Goofy was a little dense to the feeling, but he felt it soon enough.

When you're in a room at night, with no lighting and you hear the closet door move for no immediately discernable reason. Where the hairs rise along your spine and your hand unconsciously begins to knot in a fist. That tense feeling in your gut as you can feel a deadline looming over you. Those were the sorts of feelings that began to infiltrate their systems.

Sora turned to look at his shadow to see it not his own. Nor was Donald's shadow his own, either.

Twisting tendrils of shadow branched through the air from the twisted tortured shapes. Discontent at the ground's hold upon them, they bubbled up and tore free of the ground, the inky blackness, twisted apparitions of those who had cast them, and merged. What formed could only be described as hideous.

A mix of features gone wrong, a skeletal human head with what may have been a duck's bill, forked and ending in fang-like horrors. The eyes were rolled up in the head and the bill slightly open, the whole head arched back, giving a torturous impression of death. Hunched and gnarled with spindly arms, the torso was a horror no less than the head. From the back came tendrils of shadow, like a medusa's nest of snakes replacing feathers. The limbs resembled a tree gone wicked and mangled, gnarled and pendulous, swaying with the body like in a gale.

Something spawned from a nightmare, it was, and as misshapen feet touched upon the ground the hunch-backed creature ambled towards them.

Soft golden light flared and the keyblade once more fit snugly into Sora's grip. Donald withdrew a staff that left a trailing aura of blue light from its head. Goofy slid around a thick shield embossed with a scene from the history of the Kingdom, the crowning of King Mickey.

"What … what _is_ that?" cried out Sora in horror.

"I don't know, but there's more than just him!" exclaimed Goofy, looking to see the lanky shapes of the Shadows they had fought previously.

"Ah, who cares what it is, just kill it!" grumbled Donald.

With surprising speed the Obscenity struck out. A lash of its arms had Donald in its path. It landed with a sickening sound, like a crowbar on raw meat. Donald tumbled along under the force of the blow and got to his feet groggily. At the edges of the brawl the lesser shadows gathered. They watched on in the dark, expectantly.

The cruel left hand shot across the torso of the shambler after Goofy. It landed upon the shield and nearly toppled the knight, who barely braced himself to the blow. He yelled out in shock, fairly incoherently, utterly terrified. That shadowy non-thing, an affront to nature and the order of life, roared and it's limbs thickened, as if feeding off the fear.

Responding to the assaults, Sora cried out in rage and hefted the keyblade. Raised up into the air and crudely pulled down in a chop, the blow was knocked aside. Cobblestones gave up sparks to the passing metal as Sora stood and tried again. He got the weapon up just in time to deflect a blow that would have concussed him.

The air was laden with magic as Donald issued a challenge and volleyed off two fireballs, proving himself to still be in the fight. The shadow growled and seemed to thin out as it stumbled back on awkwardly shaped legs. Then it stumbled towards Sora as Goofy's shield impacted with its side. Once more it thinned and again as Sora managed to land a blow on target. He was slowly coming to grips with the inherent differences between using a wooden sword and wielding this relatively violent behemoth. The Obscenity railed at the injustice with enraged screams.

They barely had a chance to realise something was wrong. The beast whipped its leg out, sweeping Goofy to the ground. The twisted right arm reached out and slammed Goofy's shield to his chest, winding him and pinning him to the ground. It ripped upwards, stealing the shield that was then flung at Donald. That blow was terrible and Donald was knocked into one of the waterways, struggling to retain consciousness.

The left whipped about to backhand Sora into a wall. It assuredly would have done so had Sora not tried something a little new. His body and weight were thrown behind this attack. His stance widened, weight transferred to the back foot, not only his wrists but his arms and shoulders moved with this rising assault as well. It wasn't perfect but it worked; well enough that the Obscenity's arm was severed, the stump spouting noxious-looking black smoke.

From the edges of the affray the shadows crept inward. Malice shone in their tawny eyes. Once did the Obscenity rail, with tumultuous screams. It gathered itself against Sora. The boy stepped back, eyes widening as he tried to ready the Keyblade for another blow.

Heat and light filled the night with a terrifying touch of death as a shocking rumble assaulted their ears and agonised screams pierced what peace remained to the district. Sora turned to find the origins of the terrible inferno-like fireball and saw the girl in the pink dress and ribbon in her hair, standing at the far end of the alley, gathering herself for another strike.

"Aeris!" he yelled in relief at the staff-wielding Ancient's arrival. He cringed away from the naked power of the Firaja that swept across the night like a harbinger of death. Her fifth-tier fire spell blew the Obscenity straight into the wall at the other end of the alleyway, both gray and black smoke rising from the injured horror.

"Tend to your friends, Sora, and deal with the little Shadows! I'll deal with this one," she cried out as she raced in, the staff Princess Guard gripped firmly in her fingers. She used it to vault and launch herself at her foe. It had gotten to its feet and rushed the new trouble only to get knocked back to the wall as Aeris' booted feet careened into the torso of the thing. Black smoke issued from the creature's bill as it staggered and screamed. Lashing out, the claws and sinews met staff and fire in equal quantities as Aeris used her strengths to devastate the walking monstrosity.

Sora shifted his weight and tore right through one shadow with a blow starting from over his shoulder. He fished Donald out of the water and gave him a restorative elixir that took away the pain and restored his energy. He did likewise with Goofy before the swarm began to hit them.

Sora lashed out with a spinning backhanded strike. The sword dragged along behind him, fighting inertia and leaving a golden banner in its wake. It crashed into two shadows on its journey to clear Sora's comfort zone. Both were knocked back in gouts of oppressive smoke. Two other creatures raced towards Sora now; one was stopped cold by Donald's fire. The survivor lashed out with its claws to strike Sora. Unable to bring the Keyblade around in time Sora braced himself for the impact.

It knocked him down and carved through his shirt, drawing blood from his chest. Screaming unabashedly in pain the boy looked at the monster and its fellows. They closed in to finish him. Hand still on the grip of the weapon, survival instinct rose within him and more adrenaline suffused his system. The keyblade lanced like fire and pierced the shadow before him. It staggered and disappeared into the darkness as a cloud. Another claw came around, however, and freed the Keyblade from his grasp, laying him out again. Once more advanced the clump of monsters.

Fierce yells could be heard behind Sora as his comrades were enveloped in the meleé and he knew they wouldn't notice him in time. He cringed as the blow rushed in and waited for it to land. A billow of smoke brushed his downy cheeks. In surprise he looked up in time to see a four-point shuriken get summoned back to its mistress.

"What are you doing down there, tyke! Sleepy still, huh?" Sora turned and saw Yuffie on a balcony in the hotel. His face split into a wild Cheshire grin.

"What are you doing up there, Yuffie? The fight's down here, y'know!" rebutted Sora. The Keyblade returned to his grasp with an aura of gold and the boy went to work against the Heartless. With Yuffie raining death from safety with her shuriken, the ravenous keyblade, and the experience of the King's Men, things went well. Soon the swarm of shadows, and the reinforcements that came after them, were mostly a memory and the party was simply mopping up. They'd gotten so involved in the task that Aeris and the Obscenity had slipped from their minds.

A woman's piercing scream rent the air above the din of clashing arms and all eyes turned towards Aeris at the end of the alley. Standing near the wall and by the waterway the shih of battle had turned to the Obscenity's favour. Sora didn't know what agency had effected that change but fortunes had well and truly turned against Aeris. The beast's great paw was upon her throat, choking her as she gasped. Its mangled right foot was on her left foot, pinning it down. The choking grasp of the Obscenity's good arm had her stretched back, almost horizontally. Her free leg tried to land a blow against the creature's head but couldn't get the leverage behind it.

"Aeris!" cried out Yuffie in terror as she leapt down from the balcony, hurling her shuriken with all her might. Both the Heartless and the woman noticed its passage. Aeris was pushed into the path of the weapon and she twisted with all her might, suppressing the feelings of asphyxiation that tried to bring her low. The razor sharp shuriken hammered into Aeris' left armour bangle painfully and lodged into the metal. Yuffie drew out a short sword from behind her back and went forward with blood in her eye and rage in her heart. Leaving the Shadows to Donald and Goofy, Sora hefted his keyblade and followed.

Another Heartless leapt from the dark places of the alleyway and brought its claws against Yuffie. Not expecting the ambush the sharp talons tore into her upper body. Her stomach kept its inertia whilst the chest was stopped and she tumbled and rolled across the ground. Sora didn't stop to see though and lashed out as he ran with a one handed parting blow that left two halves which quickly dissolved in smoke.

Such a reckless approach would have been difficult for the Obscenity to miss. Still it hesitated, unsure of just how to solve its dilemma. To fight Sora he'd have to release Aeris. To release Aeris would be to invite his immolation once she regained her senses and got some distance. To hold on to the woman required he ignore the Keyblade. No Heartless yet spawned had the wherewithal to shrug off the ministrations of a Keyblade; by their very nature a Keyblade was death to the deathless.

Sora saw the creature's eyes, rolled back into that obscene visage, as he prepared to assail the monster. He was brought short in horror as the eyes rolled back down to look out and Sora was aware of a keen mind reaching out for his. All was black in an instant.

Sora's new environs defied all he had known in wakefulness. His feet touched upon what looked like stained glass. Elaborately crafted and at least twenty metres in diametre it shone from beneath with all manifold colours. He tried to identify the pattern of this enormous stained glass, sitting in an unknown void. Something of it, in the crests and arms displayed about its centrepiece, reminded him of Kairi. The centrepiece itself was a silhouette and one that could easily have been that childhood friend of his.

It was at the moment of this observation he looked up in surprise and found two others inhabited this apparition with him. Kairi stood at his right, a crisp image of the childhood friend he was so fond of. The Obscenity stood to his left, whole and unharmed, the gnarled limbs now like the trunks of trees and featureless eyes like golden lamps into the chiaroscuro of light and shadow that characterised their resting place.

"Kairi!" gasped the uncertain boy.

"Hi, Sora!" enthused the girl with a wide smile.

"You should not be here," intoned the Obscenity with its malformed bill. Its tone was lilting, containing an uncertain note that rose and fell, leaving very little to get comfortable with. Mushy sounds formed the words it used and were sufficient to draw shivers from Sora by itself.

"Is that so?" asked Kairi airily. "Why should you decide? Who are you to order me around?"

"I am Sora," the apparition answered.

The boy in question growled at that. "Liar! I haven't given up the name!"

"And there is much more than a mere name to him," rebutted Kairi.

"Is there?" challenged the monster. "You call us Heartless and rightly so for we are. But we are descended of hearts."

"What's that supposed to mean?" snapped Sora uncertainly.

"Your hands," shouted the Heartless as he raised an arm, "_our_ hands!" Sora's arm rose of its own accord. "I am your will." Even Kairi recoiled at this display and Sora began to sweat once control of his arm returned.

"Are you really? I've learned a lot here, nameless; cheap tricks won't throw me off," warned Kairi as she stepped to Sora's side. "So what are you, really!"

The Heartless began to change, twisted and melting. Unable to watch the writhing shadow for fear of his dinner revenging itself upon him, Sora looked away. Kairi stayed within arm's reach so he looked at her.

"Kairi, where are you?" asked Sora.

"I'm here," she replied. "Wherever here is," she added with an uncertain glance at the void. I can come and go freely in this place and learn and converse."

"How can I bring you back," asked Sora.

"I wish I knew," she said with a sad smile. "Don't worry, we'll find a way, and I've almost got the hang of being able to appear in the real worlds."

"I'm going to bring…" began the boy.

"What am I? My defeat," echoed Sora's voice. And yet, not Sora's voice. They turned to look and immediately regretted asking it to transform.

Sora stared back at them, in colour and form. Blood stained this wrong-Sora's lips and hands and its eyes were piercing green-in-green. No more a shambling monstrosity, this form inspired fear that was worse than anything that the earlier form had incited. To see oneself in such a way… Sora stumbled backwards and fell on his rear, lips trembling. Kairi gasped and stepped away from that wrongness.

"What…! What are you!?" Sora's voice wavered before his bloodstained visage.

"I _am_ you!" retorted Sora, an exact mimicry in form and manner. "I am you and I master you. Are you not afraid?"

"No," responded Sora unconvincingly and after much stammering.

"Don't worry, Sora, I understand now," whispered Kairi softly. She stepped towards the monster. "I know what made you…." She quickly turned around to face the real Sora. "Sora, you must understand, your greatest challenge where you go is not the Heartless, but yourself! Fear and hate can kill you, so be careful."

"What do you mean?" asked Sora in a near panic.

Kairi stepped close to him and grabbed his hand. "Your companions may not be perfect, but if you fail to get along … I heard a secret in here, from others like me. '_By your fear shall they know your heart, and by your own hate, master you_'. Do you understand?"

Sora considered how his anger had bubbled away at Donald before the attack and his eyes widened and he nodded. "Donald can be really annoying but he's still okay. They're my new friends," he decided. Kairi smiled.

The wrong-Sora let out a shuddering breath and arched his back, fingers curling back and muscles tensing.

"If you defeat him here, he'll be easily defeated there. Defeat him there and he'll be easily defeated here," advised Kairi. "This is the shadow of his physical form and his physical form is a shadow of his spiritual form. Both are a shadow the light casts off you and Donald. For watch! there is an ever-shining light and it will shine through you if it can. But it cannot shine through foulness, which is cruelty, unreasoned fear, sadism and the like."

The thought shook the lad depely. "So I gave rise to this," he whispered. Sora nodded and so learned his first real lesson about those foes he would face.

The wrong-Sora coughed blood and fell to his knees. His eyes bulged unwholesomely and his limbs grew thin and malnourished. A grey pallor grew and an air of death came upon him.

Seeing the Obscenity's power falter and its end approach, Kairi turned to Sora. Kairi shone in the dark, a vivid blue that seemed to emmanate from within. "Hey, Sora, one last good bye present," she informed playfully as she leaned over and kissed his cheek. Where her lip touched skin there arose a flash of golden light and new knowledge touched Sora's mind.

The world went white.

Sora's eyes snapped into focus and found that not a second had elapsed. The beast staggered and loosed its grip upon Aeris, dropping her clumsily. Shaking its head fiercely it tried to regroup. Deciding that would be a bad thing, Sora moved against the foe.

The knowledge Kairi had imparted came to the fore like instinct and put itself to work. For a long time to follow, Sora would have no knowledge of how precisely his limbs did what they did when he released them to their work, or what skill this was Kairi had given. But whatever it was, it was strong, and all became thankful for it.

The Keyblade rose in golden luminance and flashed up through the Obscenity like the eastern sun. Crashing down again like the setting sun, its light filled all corners of the alleyway. The Obscenity turned to black smoke and shafts of light shone through it eerily as the billows expanded across the cobblestones.

_Your worst is legion in their light; breath of your fears, sinewed hates. Beware their shadows and your own. _

_The closer you go to the light, the greater becomes your shadow. _


	3. Learning I, Interlude Pacts I

Kingdom Hearts Latter Ages 

Part I "Learning"

Interlude I "Pacts I"

_Councils of gathered shadows direct their motions. Very little can be told of these, to see them is death for none ever return who seek them but for the minions bonded to this shadow. More can be told of the minions themselves and the councils they hold._

"Are you serious?" hissed one of the shadows upon the wall.

"Of course I am!" thundered a woman's voice in reply.

A number of shadowy figures inhabited the room, eyeing each other mistrustfully. Most gathered about a projection in the middle of the room, showing once more the highly disturbing image of the defeat of the one they had named code named Maltrusco; better known as Guard Armour. Nothing of this was good, the return of the Keyblade, neither the advent of this 'Sora' nor the defeat of a High Shadow.

_And yet,_ thought the second speaker, _and yet he was almost defeated this time. It seems this Keyblade can amplify all powers. We will have to resist him physically and maybe we can defeat him that way. But _I_ have a better idea…_

"So, my shot at glory first, hey?" said one of them, his voice jovial like a salesmen, hiding the nervousness he felt.

"That is the plan," said the woman. "We will wait for him to leave his sanctuary in Traverse Town and swallow him up. With the transfer of the Keyblade…" she said with a devious grin.

"We know, we know. We also know what can happen if we fail. Do keep that in mind, too, my dear," said a well-spoken man with an Arabic accent.

"There is nothing here without risk. Power does not idly fall from a tree like an apple. You reach up and shear it off with the sword. Swords used clumsily kill their masters." She laughed a sound as comforting as nails on a blackboard. "Perhaps this 'Sora' will be the same."

"And perhaps not," challenged the man. "We should try to get our minions close to him. Our Heartless are like autumn leaves, we can spend them freely. Territory we cannot, power we cannot."

"Yes, someone to distract, delay and, at the right moment, end the little bilge rat," eagerly proposed another of their council.

"Very well, you two can deal with this proposal," replied the woman with a dark glance. "Funnel any needs through me, I'll see them fulfilled."

_At least this way, I'll be sure I know what you're doing, so you can't accidentally give my works a spanner. And I can upset theirs if I need. Either way … Sora, my dear, you are up for one rough ride._

_They and their shadows are of two forms, the High and the Low. The Low are numerous, footsoldiers who carry forth their horror to violate and destroy entire worlds. The High are monolithic, aware agents of this plague that stand out like the mountain on the plains. You will know them when you see them._


	4. Learning I, Ch II Dojo

Kingdom Hearts  
Latter Ages

Part I "Learning"

Chapter II "Dojo"

_Always you play on a knife-edge._

"You crouch too much. No, now you're standing too much. It's a balance Sora," dictated Squall. He had taken Sora to the cave in which he did most of his training. The purpose was to teach Sora how to fight with a heavy weapon like the Keyblade.

"What? Leon…" he replied.

"Too low, you can't maneuver the blade well enough, and you sacrifice some of your reach. Too high, your centre of gravity is too high as well and it's easier to knock you over. Balance, remember that."

"Yes, Leon…"

The cave was dank, lit by a series of electric lanterns that had been brought in a long time ago. Sound would echo around this space, off walls and running water. The entrance to it was just outside the hotel, in the wide alleyway they had fought the Heartless in the night before. Squall had been, though not visibly, quite aggrieved to not have arrived in time.

"At least you've figured out that you need to throw your weight about with that weapon," Leon said, rubbing his brows. "Pity you don't have much weight to throw with."

"Hey!" complained Sora.

"All right, you have the stance, let's begin. The Keyblade is a slashing weapon; most of your damage is going to be done with the teeth of your key. Follow?" Leon had brought along his Gunblade to help teach. They were quite different weapons, yet some techniques would be similar and the relative weight was about the same.

"Yeah, I got it," answered Sora, flexing his young arms to keep the weapon in the right position.

"Okay, normally we'd have a whole lot of preparatory work before this, but time is short. We're going to need some basics, though. So, move forward, one foot at a time. Keep one foot grounded and avoid letting yourself get unbalanced. No, no, like this … see?"

"Yes, Leon," muttered Sora trying to move smoothly and deliberately, like Squall did. It wasn't quite coming off as well, though, and Squall was constantly correcting him. Still, being young, he soon picked up on the idea. Thirty minutes of practicing the same movements got _pretty_ boring though.

"All right, close enough," allowed Squall. Sora was about to protest his tutor's choice of words when the mercenary lifted the Gunblade up off his shoulder. "Striking involves your body; no flourishes or fencing." Squall gripped his weapon tightly and demonstrated, bringing ruin upon an imaginary enemy. "Do it," he ordered.

Sora grabbed his weapon and hacked around. His feet stayed still so the inertia jerked his upper body about. Mostly lateral in nature, the strike still had a rising slant to it, reducing the power of the assault. Lacking in speed there was no weight behind it to drive the blow home. "How was that?" Sora asked, looking up at Squall.

"Pitiful," challenged Squall with characteristic bluntness. "At least it's a starting point." Glaring, Sora shouldered his Keyblade like Leon was doing with his own weapon. "Watch," ordered Squall. "Whichever side you attack from, that foot is the lead. Understand; lead with your body, not your weapon. You may have to put a foot forward or pull it backward, but the attacking side is the one that leads."

"Won't they be able to pick your blows that way?" asked Sora.

"It won't matter."

"Why?"

"They'll see the blows, but it'll come with all your power behind it. And you'll avoid becoming unbalanced, so you won't be vulnerable. Now, swing with your weight and put it behind the blow."

Sora sighed and lent himself to his tasks. Soon his muscles were straining under the repeated efforts. Strangely as time went on the motions were becoming more natural, more fluid and a little groove would form. Sora tuned out and let his physical body take over the actions from his mind, allowing time to go by, the strikes becoming more natural.

Leon was an exacting taskmaster, but he was effective. For his own part, Sora was a quick learner. By the end of the first session, even Leon had grudgingly conceded that the boy had improved. His abilities were not yet to the point where Leon would want to charge into battle next to him, but he had certainly improved. The force of his blows had greatly increased. But there were still many aspects to be sorted out. Sora's footwork was good, from long days playfighting on the beaches and piers of his home islands. However, Leon could tell that there was a reluctance to strike to kill; he still needed to develop his arsenal of techniques.

When Leon sat down later to consider the whole training session, he felt that on balance, he was dealing with good material. Sora had great potential, amplified by the Keyblade, along with a willingness and capacity to learn. He found himself looking forwards to the next training session. When he was finished, Sora would be able to keep up with the best of them.

Aeris had, in her travels of Traverse Town, happened across an abandoned house, once inhabited by some Mystic. It had obviously been a very powerful Mystic because Aeris had needed to disengage several hefty wards surrounding the place to gain entry. That had been a good learning experience for her. It was also very helpful for when she decided to place some defensive wards around Traverse Town itself, which kept out all but the smallest most elusive shadows. Very strong Heartless could probably defeat her wards, but not without making such a spectacle of themselves that everyone would know it was coming.

Inside the house she had found the bones of the old Mystic lying in his bed with moth-eaten sheets and mattress. Aeris had immediately hopped out of the room, in no disposition to go disturbing the eternal rest of others. But as she entered the main room everything had changed. Glowing brightly upon an old wood table in the centre of the room was a note. No other adornment decorated the room.

It had been the last will of the late Mystic that his house be occupied by another Mystic, so it could be put to proper use. With her knowledge of the arts the benefits of such a thing became immediately apparent to Aeris. Still she didn't feel entirely comfortable with the idea of living there, so she just used it as a combination workshop and Dojo.

Now Aeris had brought Sora to the upper floor, which had been designed by the previous owner to replenish the energy of all aware entities within it. The room had been redecorated with white mats comprising the floor and light pink on the walls. Along the walls at regular intervals were white sheets of paper with written letters in some script Sora could not recognise as he entered the room.

Aeris sat in the middle of the room peacefully, her upper body clad in a short burgundy robe, her legs sheathed in similarly coloured slacks. Her braided hair hung down her back gracefully. Across from her sat Sora, in a similar outfit, looking rather uncertain of himself and his surroundings.

"Are you ready," asked Aeris.

"I don't know," murmured Sora nervously.

"Perfect," smiled the auburn mystic. "There is no way you could truthfully know whether you were ready or not, Sora. You don't know what is about to happen."

"Uh?" Sora looked askance of his tutor with a dull expression.

Aeris looked back with a beatific gaze. "If you don't expect anything, but just take it in, you'll do fine. Start making assumptions and you'll run into trouble. Do you want to start now?"

"Yes," said Sora nervously.

"Okay, focus within yourself…"

For three hours she carried out her tutoring, slowly teaching Sora the basics of what was a very difficult area of study. Her aim in the lesson was to teach him to find his Spiritbase, the inner mindset that let you learn new spells. Once a person was aware of this little state of mind the whole subject became much easier to learn.

At the end of those three hours, Sora was touching that mindset. It made him aware of his surrounding in a small way, giving him a greater insight into himself and his skills. It wasn't much, since he'd only been at it a little while, but Aeris could already tell he was a natural.

"All right, you've made good progress Sora, but that's all for today," declared Aeris as she stood up. "Tomorrow we'll work at shoring up some of this and then try teaching you your first spell. That's usually fire, but we'll see."

Sora stood up shakily, uncertain of his balance. "Okay, thanks Aeris."

"I hope you enjoyed yourself," said Aeris with a bow. "This way please."

The young woman led the reluctant warrior from the practice floor. Deciding it was best to administer a quick snack to rejuvenate him before sending Sora on his way, Aeris rummaged about the pantry. As she assembled the bits and pieces she tried to make conversation.

"Hey, Sora, tell me about yourself," said Aeris.

"Huh?" asked Sora in surprise. "Tell you what?"

"You know! What do you like to do? Like hobbies and such. Who's this Kairi you keep mentioning?"

Sora blinked and reared back a little. "Kairi?" He paused slightly. "She was a friend of mine, one of my two best friends back … back on the island." A quiet dip of the head announced his feelings about the island were, unsurprisingly, not yet resolved.

Aeris looked sad. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. It can take a while to get used to," she apologised while looking away. "Losing your home, I mean." When her head rose again to face him she offered her companion a warm smile. "Let's not talk about that, Sora."

Glumly, the boy nodded. "Okay." Reaching out he accepted the sandwich that Aeris had made him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," replied Aeris, her grin slightly more wan as her mind danced to the subject of home. "I hope Leon wasn't too nasty this morning? He can be somewhat … abrasive with people."

Sora grimaced intensely, his face crinkling in response. "He was mind-bogglingly horrible. Why does he have to be so cold as that?" Sora sounded rather huffy. While his skills had improved, his ego had taken a bruising.

Aeris giggled lightly, with eyes that echoed, a mixture of mirth and sadness that was peculiar to behold. Peculiar and entrancing, a bittersweet anachronism that drew in attention as if the young woman had beckoned with crooked finger. Or would have, if Sora had been but a little older, or but a little wiser.

"That's just who Leon is, Sora. He's had to deal with harsh living; this is how he deals with life. He's lost a lot of friends and family and allies to the Heartless. Please, don't judge him too harshly; everyone tries to cope in their own way, you know."

"Huh? Well, okay, Aeris, I'll try." He wasn't even quizzical. It could hardly be expected that he should know however; he was but a fourteen-year-old from an island paradise. What need had he to know the vagaries of the distressed psyche. In a landlocked paradise surrounded by friends and innocent fun, where would a boy learn the complex interweaves of an adult's societal needs? Glittering inside Aeris' eyes he could see nothing but what he saw to be kindliness. Old enough to have lost the child's sixth sense for people but young enough to be naïve to the turbulence that made up a person's interactions.

Obliviously glancing away his teeth tore into the sandwich and the flesh and sauce and lettuce inside. Aeris shook her head slowly at the boy and with a silent giggling heave of her shoulders bit into her own food. Nothing of the conflicting desires, the physical needs people would feel inside themselves, the jealousy or sorrow that people who would step onto the stage of life as an adult would soon learn. It was plain for Aeris to see that Sora had a steep learning curve ahead of him.

"Run along to Yuffie now, Sora. You know where she is, yes?" said Aeris as the last bites of the sandwich disappeared.

"It's number 2, Graham Street, I think. In Fifth District?"

Aeris nodded and waved the young Keyblade master along. "That's right, now don't keep her waiting. She's as feisty as Squall is brash," said Aeris with a bright rippling laugh.

"Sure thing, Aeris, I'll see you all … in the morning or something," laughed Sora in turn as he ran out the door, waving over his shoulder.

Once he was out of sight Aeris slumped forward over the table and let her chin touch upon her folded arms. Her eyes cast over the familiar room and her mind upon the old Mystic who had owned it. "How lucky you are to not see this day, to not be here in this shadow."

"You shouldn't envy the dead, Aeris. Losing your chance to act is not a fate to be envied," projected a man's voice from the back entrance of the room. Aeris gasped and straightened up. For a mere moment she prepared to defend herself until she recognised the voice and its owner. Instead she sighed.

"What power to act do the living have? How can we be of consequence when everything we do turns to ashes on our tongues?" asked Aeris of the air around them.

"Don't, Aeris," warned Squall. Deep but tremulous, just beneath the surface, the voice had acquired a rougher edge at the cost of some of the frost it had carried. To pick the emotion you would have to have known Squall for a long time. Aeris had and could read him better than any in Traverse Town. There had been one who could read him better, but Aeris didn't know if that young woman lived anymore.

Having something on her heart, no man or woman could stay Aeris. She was undeterred, set upon tearing open old wounds. "When the shadow … Squall, how can something supposed to be so joyous create such darkness? I can't understand it, I just can't."

Nothing answered her and a silence descended upon the room, pressing upon her shoulders like a snowdrift. Still she refused to let herself turn around to face him, even with the chill of eyes boring into her back sending a shiver through her spine. She waited and it must have been at least two minutes of listening, for either voice or steps, until he spoke up.

"I'm sorry," was all he could bring himself to say. Or it was all Aeris would let him say.

"Don't apologise, Squall. Whatever else you do, don't apologise." Aeris shook her head and slumped further against the table.

"Why should you have to be perfect, Aeris? You'll sacrifice your soul if you attempt to be perfect." Squalls voice was like a soft rumble, like a distant avalanche.

"Of course I have to be perfect. It's expected of me. It's what I'm supposed to be, the innocent perfect one. Look at her, the Angel of Flowers; so perfect! She'd never do something wrong." Bitterness began to creep into a voice that was like a clear stream. "How can I disappoint? What would I be then?"

"Maybe human. What could you be if you were perfect? Do you really think such a person exists? No human can be perfect; don't condemn yourself to some stereotype someone wants, and don't be surprised if it's impossible to fit." Another wait ensued as Squall tallied his options. "I'll see you at home, Aeris. I'll make dinner," he decided.

"Of course," she replied. Frowning slightly, the mercenary stepped away from heat.

When he too had left, Aeris was once more alone in the room and it seemed like a void was around her. It was rather a non-thing that didn't exist, leaving her floating alone in her thoughts. "He apologised," she whispered. "My goodness, how do you feel more cheap?"

Tiptoes made quiet reverberations that echoed down the corridor off light paper walls. Unnerved by the silence in response, Sora ventured deeper into the little establishment. Soon he found a set of stairs that descended down a level. Unsure what to do he too descended.

Number 2, Graham Street, Fifth District, it was the right address. Yet there was no one to meet him, and no sign of Yuffie in the Dojo she had put together here. It hadn't seemed so big from the outside, but it felt much larger inside as Sora tried to navigate. He had a strong urge to call forth his Keyblade.

_It feels like someone's watching me…_

He found himself in another maze of corridors and little alcoves and rooms. As far as Sora could discern, Yuffie's Dojo was simply a big maze and a difficult one too. If she were down here with him, he couldn't tell. Not a sound was heard but those he made.

He eased his gaze around a corner to see what lay ahead. He nearly fell clear back on his rump. The girl giggled madly as Sora scrambled back to his feet. "Hey, Sora," she said brightly.

"Kairi," whispered Sora with a glow on his face. "Is that you?"

Kairi wiggled a hand and smiled. "Sort of, I'm here but not here. Like you saw me during your fight," she tried to explain as her hand wafted through a wall or two.

"Oh. Do you know how to come back? What can I do to help?" said Sora lowly and eagerly, leaning forward.

"I don't know, Sora. I really don't, though I keep looking. I don't know where I really am but this place is really strange." She sighed with no small feeling. "I can't describe it right but I'll try. Where I am, it's like … it's like all the answers in the world are here for the taking if I can just … just," she worked as she gesticulated. "If I could just figure out how to use it. A great library without a help desk or labels."

Sora had to think a while for a response to that. "What sorts of things are there?"

Kairi smiled and looked up. "Oh, everything, memories, images, experiences, skills … this isn't a normal place. I can come see you from there, but only for a little while. It's so confusing! I'm not sure what I'm doing really."

"I'll do whatever I can to help you, Kairi," promised Sora.

Kairi touched Sora's cheek in response. "I know you will. I just don't know what to do, yet. I think … no never mind. How has your training been?" she asked eagerly.

Sora grimaced. "Like torture. But I've learned some things. I've found some friends here, too; Donald, Goofy and my tutors. Speaking of tutors, do you know if there's anyone in this building beside us? A girl named Yuffie is supposed to be here and it's beginning to creep me out."

Kairi laughed. "I've got to go now, Sora. Yuffie's waiting for you in the middle of this maze. Head straight down, turn left, then right then the next two lefts. Oh, yeah, Sora, remember you're the only one who can see me, so be careful what you say," she giggled madly. "They'll think you've gone coconuts." With that she faded away.

Sora looked around in confusion. "Geesh … well it was nice to have seen you again, Kairi."

"Same, Sora, I'll see you later," came a ghostly voice from the thin air.

There was a smile on the boy's face as he got back to work. With the directions he'd been given he soon stepped into a room seven metres to a side. In the very middle of that room, as Kairi had promised, Yuffie sat in perfect meditation with her legs tucked in under her.

"Hey, Yuffie!" said Sora happily.

"Be quiet," intoned Yuffie softly as she sat immobile upon the tatami mats. "Sit down and wait."

Taken aback by such unaccustomed behaviour from the normally effervescent girl, Sora was startled into compliance. He sat heavily and stared at Yuffie. Her face and shut eyes seemed utterly composed. Fair complexion and dark hair contrasted sharply, betraying some of the sense of peace Yuffie exuded. Her slender body was no longer encased in what Squall quietly referred to as 'the jailbait special' but a loose white tank top and black pants. A swath of bandages covered one shoulder where a wound was still healing.

For the longest time the only discernible motion was the slight movement caused by the action of breathing. Without that tic she could have passed as a corpse;nothing else disturbed her frame. Minutes passed and Sora fidgeted nervously as he waited. When the waiting broke it couldn't have surprised Sora more.

"Prepare to evade me," whispered Yuffie. Pouncing catlike with grace and speed, the girl sprang forth and punched Sora in the chest, knocking him back to the floor. "Try and dodge me, Sora." Scrambling to his feet Sora reacted with shock and reared back as another blow connected. Sora gave a noise of protest and Yuffie's eyes flared wide. "Let's see what you can do, boy!"

What followed didn't last long. It couldn't be considered a fair fight, it almost couldn't be considered a fight at all. Now, Sora had learned a lot of roughhousing and play-fighting back on Destiny Island. This was something else entirely and few of their fights had been fist fights either; it would not have been fair on Selphie or Kairi when they joined in.

Grasping hands vied for leverage upon the wall as Sora drew himself to his feet again. The world spun before his eyes as his equilibrium wavered like a gambler's fortune. Standing upright and superior, just outside arm's reach, was Yuffie, a sly smirk on her face. Only when Sora had finally regathered himself did she speak to him.

"Remember this next time you feel cocky or think that you know more then me. I beat you to the ground and you could not even land a blow. Some Heartless are easy to dodge, like those grunt Shadows even you could evade. There are more than you have seen. There are Low Shadows even I wouldn't touch without help. These things can strike quick and vicious. A purely offensive strategy won't save you. Do you think Squall got to where he was by simply standing there and dealing damage? Both Squall and Aeris have learned the hard way, you can't get the first strike all the time, you need to learn how to parry, to dodge, to hide."

Sora tried to think of something acidic to retort but nothing came to him as he hissed with pain, rubbing his chest. Yuffie walked to one end of the room and picked up two wooden training foils. She tossed the bigger and heavier one to the young Keyblader who caught it with a suspicious expression.

"All right, since you'll be using your Keyblade, it's best to start you there. There isn't much time for anything else. Now, there are three basic ways to defeat an incoming blow. Dodge it, parry it or smother it. Are you ready? Strike at me, then, and I'll show you what I mean."

Yuffie stood still as Sora lifted his foil and hacked down as if he were using a Keyblade again. Once he was committed to the blow Yuffie kicked backwards. Her own foil raised up as Sora's weapon sailed by like a jackdaw and missed her entirely. Completely open was her target's torso and she thrust forth and tapped him on the chest. Sora stepped back in dismay and touched his chest.

"You understand? Sometimes it can be hard to do but dodging their blow will leave you in a very advantageous position. The reverse is true, so be careful how you strike. All right, come at me again and I'll show you how to parry properly."

Sora stepped in with a rising blow this time and Yuffie moved to counter. Edge stuck flat as her foil batted his strike away from her body with ease. "Keep coming," she instructed. Bringing his weapon back in towards Yuffie sharply, Sora tried again. The girl did something strange and received the blow on the flat of her weapon, her right hand on the grip at shoulder-level and her left palm bracing the foil's blade near her waist. A pleasant wooden clack carried over the air as Yuffie launched an arcing downward chop that Sora sidestepped away from.

Yuffie noted the dodge with approval and stepped out to save herself from the riposte. Disappointingly he didn't launch the counterblow, as he should have. "Notice I used either the edge of my weapon on the flat of yours, or vice versa. Avoid edge-on-edge parrying because the blade can often crack or skip. It's a less reliable method and more harmful to yourself. Okay then, Sora, now for the smother. You have to pick the blow early and move in to prevent it gathering momentum. Nip the blow in the bud, you see," she explained.

"Strike me."

Air parted with a whisper as Sora moved to strike, hacking down upon Yuffie's head with all his might. Yuffie stepped forward into the blow and reached out to stymie Sora's lean biceps with a surprising vice-like grip. Her free hand held the foil and tapped Sora's stomach.

"To smother you prevent the blow from gaining momentum and speed by getting in its way early. Don't block it with your body, like I'm sure you were thinking! Depriving a blow of speed is like depriving a fire of oxygen. Got it yet?"

"Yeah, I've got it, Yuffie," said Sora irritably. "Is it really important to learn how to fight sword-wielding baddies? I mean, I don't think all that many Heartless will be carrying swords, right?"

"Some Humans fight alongside the Heartless, Sora," replied Yuffie, surprise in her eyes. "Didn't you know that?"

Sora blinked in shock. "No. But those things kill worlds and everything they can lay hold off, how could anyone even want to work with them?" His tone was disbelieving, like he suspected he was being taken for a ride and that any moment Yuffie would break out into a smile and claim 'gotcha'.

Sighing at the fact she was the unlucky one who had to explain, Yuffie put her fists on her hips and tried her best. "I don't know the hows of it; all that semi-spiritual, magical crap is not my scene. I'm more practical, I sneak and take limbs. But there are those that form pacts with some truly nasty things in the Fallow; I mean really nasty things. In return, they are able to create Heartless that serve them; Maleficent does that. She'll get a huge mob of Heartless and send them into a fight first, so that her other troops can find the weak points and avoid a lot of the punishment we would have sent them."

For a long while, Sora was silent, seemingly too shocked to offer comment. At last he shook his head clear and looked at his teacher. "You've had to fight other people?"

Yuffie scuffed at the ground with her foot, feeling unaccountably guilty. "Yeah. Usually in the Coliseum where it's safe but from time to time, yeah, I've fought Traitors. All flying limbs and plenty of yelling," she admitted, trying to describe it as best as she could. Sora only nodded slowly, so she continued on, "You probably wouldn't find that, though. My giant shuriken and swords cut through things. You're more likely to see things bend and shatter under your Keyblade."

Sora grimaced in distaste, whilst Yuffie shrugged and gave a mock salute with her training weapon. "Don't worry though, all this training is useful even against people who are not using swords, such as Heartless. The concepts are what matters. Alright! Now, let's see if you've really learned anything. Sparring time, Sora."

The end of the exhausting day saw Sora sitting with his impromptu instructors at the flat Squall and Aeris shared in Fourth District. Yuffie lived by herself in the upper floor of her Dojo so Squall and Aeris had the flat to themselves. That had solved some problems and created others but that's a different subject. Eating a spaghetti dinner that the two hosts had made while Sora trained with Yuffie provided a relaxing end for everyone's labours. The flat was crowded with all the extra guests and the table was too cramped for everyone to sit at, so people ate where they would.

Combining kitchen and dining room into one big room and partitioning the kitchen away with a countertop provided a nice spacious area. The countertop went across two-thirds of the room from one wall and one-third of the way out from the other wall. That area formed the kitchen, slotted into that corner, with a stove and fridge and the other conveniences one expected. The room had three exits; one beside the counter on the dining room side that lead to the patio; one opposite the patio that opened into a hallway leading to the bedrooms; and one leading to the living room and street front (their apartment was on the ground floor).

A number of chairs were positioned at the counter upon which sat Yuffie, Sora, Donald and Goofy. Their plates of spaghetti were before them and they were happily wolfing it down. At the table behind them were some of the older members, Squall, Aeris, Cid, Shera and Locke. Aeris sat next to Locke, across from Cid and Shera, while Squall sat at the head of the table. Whilst Sora had already met Cid, both Shera and Locke were new faces to him. Once Aeris realised this she launched into a series of introductions.

"Hey, kid, nice to see you didn't get trashed," greeted Cid brashly over his plate.

"Cid!" warned Shera sharply, "Be nice and mind your manners!"

Looking about in confusion Cid threw up his hands. "What? I was polite!"

"So you two already know each other?" asked Aeris quizzically.

"Yeah, the blighter showed up in my store before he got into that mess with the you two and the High Shadow," explained Cid.

"What about you, Locke, did you meet him?" asked Aeris.

Dressed in blue, looking roguish as always with a bandana on his head and a casual manner betrayed by alert eyes, Locke waved off the suggestion. "No, although I met Donald and Goofy. We'll be sorting out the region while you train up the fella here."

"Ah, good to hear we've got some reliable support!" cheered Cid. Donald quacked off an irate reply and Cid chuckled. "No offense there, boys, but I've never seen King's Men in action, but Locke I've seen. Do you have a ship?"

Yuffie leaned over to Sora who was busily devouring his plate of spaghetti. "Cid's real into mechanics and stuff. You'll see," she advised. Sora wasn't sure but she sounded kind of malicious when she said that last. Either way he nodded his thanks for the tip, too busy eating to stop and speak.

"So, Sora, how did your training go today?" asked the pleasant brunette next to Cid. The Keyblader grimaced and swallowed his food so he could respond.

"Squall and Yuffie are slave-drivers," complained they young warrior-in-the-making. Yuffie beat on his shoulder and Squall flipped a 'whatever' in the boy's direction. The gruff mechanic nearly bust a gut laughing and extinguished his old cigar, then fumbled for a new one. Shera blushed in surprise while Aeris coughed politely into her fist. Donald laughed uproariously and Goofy wondered what was happening.

"They can be intense alright, kid," laughed Locke to the baleful gazes of the two in question. "But no comment on Aeris' teaching style? Liked her lesson better? Well, I suppose that's understandable; she is a Mystic after all." Chuckling evilly, Locke grinned like the Cheshire Cat while Sora looked about mystified. But then Aeris' counting to ten yielded no results so she stamped on Locke's foot. Naturally Locke couldn't quite cover his reaction at that; Aeris' booted feet could manage quite a bit of ouch. "Hey, I only meant the Mystics were far more amiable than most other people." Unsatisfied, Aeris glared warningly at him and his disarming grin.

"What are you talking about?" asked Sora as certain threads of the conversation seemed to pass him by.

Yuffie waved it off blithely. "Some Mystics have certain reputations … never mind, Locke is being Locke again."

"Well, he's going to stop being Locke right about _now_," warned Shera with a stern scowl. "Or he'll stop _being_. Period." Even Cid edged away from that scowl (Squall didn't, but then he always was made of a different material when it came to things like that).

Sora had to make an aggrieved noise in complaint. "What _is_ it with you people and being so _cryptic_? Why can't you ever just _explain_ something? Have to be so dense!" he bemoaned loudly.

Later on that evening people had begun to drift about the apartment, carrying on their conversations. At one point Sora had found himself in Aeris' company. He felt the Mystic was his best chance of getting an answer that wouldn't be either incomprehensible to him, utterly snobbish, or just fobbing himoff.

"Aeris, why do I never seem to get a straight answer out of people around here?" he complained.

Looking at him with pursed lips the young woman considered her response. "You can say more of what you mean through riddles. The riddle can convey more of the essence of your thought than a straight out comment. Language is not a very precise thing."

"So what was Locke talking about when you stepped on his foot?" asked Sora exasperated.

Tomato-like blushes crept onto Aeris' cheeks. "Oh! He was repeating some … generalisations about mages that were simply not true." Sora had a blank look on his face and Aeris sighed. "He was calling me loose," she set out simply enough. "In jest, but that's the essence of it. I'm really annoyed with him actually."

Sora blinked and thought back to some of the things the adults back at the Destiny Islands would say to each other when they thought the kids weren't listening. "What? But thats really mean...," said Sora with narrowing eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll deal with him." Aeris leaned back in her chair at the table and looked at the ceiling. "So, you want some straighter answers, hmm?"

Sora nodded eagerly. "Yes! I know so little about what I'm supposed to do here."

Aeris smiled and regarded Sora kindly. "Well, that you'll learn over time. But if you want to know what we know … you'll recall we mentioned about the 'Ansem Report'? Well, it is less a single report than it is a collection of research papers, mainly by Ansem but also a few of his subordinates. With some conclusions tacked on at the end. Well, we have a few of those papers but not many, and they're hard to sort out." Aeris looked left and right, but saw everyone else was looking elsewhere or in the living room. "Come on, follow me."

Aeris, who was wearing a light tan blouse and black skirt, led Sora into a spare bedroom that she and Squall kept as a Study. It consisted of two bookshelves filled with manuscripts, research papers and all sorts of titles. There was also an impressive desk, piled high with a prodigious load of paper. In a corner on the ground was a safe. Aeris went to the safe as Sora looked about feeling very impressed by it all. Several quick turns of the dial unlocked the safe but then Aeris had to disable a pair of strong wards she herself had placed on it. From the items within the now-open safe she withdrew a manila folder.

Placing it on the desk she moved aside to let Sora see. It was plain, with the words 'Studies of the Ansematic Substrata and the Sulwurst Genotype' crammed neatly on the tab. Flipping it open whilst Aeris fetched two chairs he immediately began to feel overwhelmed as he leafed through the pages.

"Don't start in the middle, Sora, start from the beginning," admonished Aeris. She went to the first page in the folder. "This is the table of contents we've put together for the pieces we have," she said of a sheet with a series of five names on it with numbers following. "After that we've got some of our formalised notes and commentaries here. There are a lot more, over here," she indicated a particularly thick pile of papers on the desk. "After that we have the four complete papers we've assembled. The Gorobei Paper on behavioural patterns, Harrison's '_Data Exchange in the Ansematic Substrata_', Janissary's '_Sulwurst Genotype Listing, Volume II_' and the Maddox Paper on '_Practical Applications of Common Gummi_'. These all get really technical, so you need to have some sort of training before you really get into it."

"Oh great, I don't know anything about this stuff," worried Sora.

"Which is why we were so glad to find this!" proclaimed Aeris as she brandished a sheaf of neatly printed papers. "It's a sort of helpful primer, which discusses all the terminology and basic concepts of the Report. You can keep this copy if you like," she offered. Sora accepted gratefully and took the sheaf, held together with a single clip, in hand. It was about thirty pages long with small print but Sora was undaunted. In here lay the path towards answers and not being regarded as a kid who didn't know a thing.

Sora slept soundly in his room at the end of the hall. Squall's room was next to his and Aeris' was beyond that. The room was simple, with a bed and a dresser and a lamp hanging from the ceiling. It was getting close to nightfall, the time when the household would get up to start their day's work.

Part of why Sora slept so soundly was lying on the dresser. Up late reading the primer, he had grown quite tired and now slept like a log. It wasn't that easy to get through but Sora felt he was making progress. Soon Ansem's Report should begin to make more sense to him and might provide the answers he needed.

In his dreams he dreamt of happy things, playful times on the beach with his friends. Except one dream. His little wraith of a friend, Kairi, had appropriated this particular dream to catch up with her friend.

Both Sora and Kairi sat upon what looked like a stained glass plate, intricate and beautiful with many colours and details. Around them was a void that eyes could not penetrate. Kairi still wore her old clothes, a pink skirt and shorts with a white halter-top. Sora, on the other hand, was ensconced in his sleepwear, simple pajamas, and his comforter. They sat together, wrapped in the blanket, swinging their feet over the edge of the plate.

"Is he really that slow?" asked Kairi.

"Goofy? Yeah, but he's still a good buddy," replied Sora. "He's tough, that's for sure."

Kairi smiled slyly. "Any girls there?"

"Huh?" said Sora, frowning deeply. "No, not really. Just Yuffie, really, and she's older then me. Tries to act all superior and smug."

"Oh, I see," said Kairi. "Jealous of her are you?" she teased. Sora took the bait easily enough.

"Hey, that's not true!" protested the boy whilst the girl laughed.

Rubbing tears of laughter out of her eyes, Kairi composed herself again. "Ah, I'm glad I can see you like this. It gets so boring out here, you know?"

"I can imagine," replied Sora. "It's just void here."

"Well, it can be really interesting, when I'm trying to search for answers. I come across so much weird stuff I just don't have a use for."

"Oh? Like what?"

"Like-"

Kairi's oration was suddenly cut off before it could begin by the sound of distant thunder, rolling through the void to their ears.

"What's that?" asked Sora.

Kairi laughed. "I think someone's trying to get your attention. Wake up now, sleepyhead!"

Sora sat bolt upright in bed to the noise of someone knocking on the shutters of his window. "What in the…?" he started to mumble before crawling over to the shutters. He groggily opened them up and stuck his head out. "Locke? What are you doing down here!" he hissed angrily. "I was sleeping…"

Locke's grinning mug was next to Sora's head as the rogue leaned against the wall. "Sorry about that," he answered glibly in the shadowy dusk gloom. "I've got some papers I need to deliver to Leon, however, and I didn't want to wake the whole household up."

"So you woke me up?" grumbled Sora, annoyed at the severance of his dream. "Why not Leon or Aeris?"

"Because, they're scary when woken up," stated Locke matter-of-factly. "You don't scare me so much. Besides, it's about time you got up anyway," he chuckled evilly. "See ya around!"

Sora looked at the manila folder that Locke had just handed off to him. 'Black Sonata Readiness Report' was typed into the tab. "Nah," he decided. "Too boring looking to read, I think." Nevertheless, Sora gave the report a little flip through but it was all jargon and statistics. Figuring Locke was right about it being time to start being up and awake, Sora began to get dressed.

The door opened with a creak, much to Sora's dismay. His bare feet padded across the tiled floor into the dining room and he placed the folder on the counter for Leon to find in the morning. But as he turned around to walk back towards the bathroom he accidentally stubbed his toe. He yelped, bit out a couple incoherent words angrily and began to hop about.

Aeris and Leon were, unfortunately, both light sleepers, an acquired trait for them. The commotion from the dining room got both of them running. As Sora settled down and began rubbing his toe, propping himself against the counter, the two adults of the flat appeared in the hallway. Squall wore simple black boxers and some gauze around a scar he'd picked up in training on his forearm. Aeris had worn a pink chemise and loose pajama bottoms and her unbound hair cascaded down to her waist.

"What happened?" demanded Leon.

"I stubbed my toe on that chair!" complained Sora. Leon just shook his head and turned away. "Hey! Wait, Leon, Locke dropped off some papers for you."

Aeris and Squall exchanged glances for a moment. "The readiness reports, you think?" asked Aeris.

"That or he's got some reconnaissance already," replied Leon.

"Folder's labeled 'Black Sonata Readiness Report' and it's got a lot of jargon in it," answered Sora.

Having guessed correctly, Aeris pumped an arm in triumph, grinning playfully. Leon let that display be and approached Sora to peruse the report. "Well, we're all up," murmured Squall, "May as well make a start of the day."

Aeris sighed and stretched a little. When she shook her head the silky mane of her hair lashed out like a banner in a gale. "Okay, you put on the coffee, I'm taking first shower."

"Whatever," replied Squall absently as he walked around the counter and opened the cupboard with the coffee. Confident Squall would have breakfast ready when she got out, Aeris turned and walked back into the hallway. Sora sat down at the counter and watched as Squall fiddled with the coffeepot.

"So what's that report about?" asked Sora absently.

Leon finished measuring out the coffee before answering. "It's the paperwork for the repair of our runner."

"_Our_ runner?" Sora spoke with no small degree of surprise. He hadn't heard of Leon having a runner, though he supposed it made sense.

"Shared between me, Aeris, Locke, Cid and a number of old friends of ours you haven't met."

"Oh… what's she called? Why the paperwork?"

When the sound of running water began to emanate across the house, Leon turned to regard the source. His eyes lingered there a moment before returning to Sora. "_Black Sonata_. The paperwork is a summary of the repairs and current performance."

Sora sighed a little as the coffee percolated; its aromas playing at the senses of both males in the room. "That coffee sure smells good."

Leon frowned. "I thought you didn't like it."

"I never tried it," said Sora hesitantly. Shrugging nonchalantly, the elder turned towards the stove to begin cooking bacon strips as a nice basic breakfast. Happily, the first bacon strips started getting done as the coffee finished percolating and Aeris stepped out of the shower, walking to her room to finish getting dressed.

A few minutes later Aeris came out wearing a translucent white shirt over a smaller black shirt that created an interesting contrast. A black skirt reached to just above her knees and fluttered as she walked. On her feet were her favourite pair of scruffy brown boots she couldn't bear to part with. Her hair was pinned up on her head – since she didn't feel like going to the extensive effort the big braid required – with two emerald green clips that worked to keep the hair down her back and out of her face.

"Morning, Aeris," said Sora cheerily. Aeris gestured back and smiled. Leon also nodded in her direction, so she bestowed another smile on him, too.

"How did the repairs go?" asked Aeris as she sat down next to Sora and grabbed the report.

"Not sure, I haven't read it yet," replied Squall as he poured himself and Aeris a coffee and gave the first servings of bacon to Sora.

"Thank you," said Aeris as she accepted the mug. With a soft breath she blew the rising tendrils of steam from the coffee and took a sip. Sora tried to read over Aeris' shoulder as she flipped open the report. The page she read seemed to be a list of systems and comments. Aeris' finger moved down the columns as she read rapidly. Then she blurted something incoherent, or at least not in a language Sora recognised.

"Leon! They had to replace all the forward cabling! One of the powerplant aspirators, too, and … and … this is going to cost a fortune in parts."

Squall sighed as he cooked the bacon diligently. "Fortunately the agricultural trade routes are giving us good pay offs. We need them," he finished grimly.

"Yes, yes," replied Aeris absently as she flipped forward a few pages. She found an invoice at the end and sighed in relief. "Not as bad as I thought. Our cabling layout saved on labour costs and we had a few other lucky breaks."

"How much?" asked Squall.

"Just over twenty-k munny," answered Aeris, quite relieved. "Cid says it'll be out of dry dock inside of a week, but to take it easy for another two weeks. He isn't very sure on a few things…"

This got Squall's attention in a big way. He turned and glared balefully at the report. "Elaborate, please…"

Aeris looked over the report again. "It doesn't really say. Does say that I should go see either Shera or that Brother fellow who recently signed on. I'll handle that after breakfast, so I should get back in time for our training session, Sora." Taking a deep whiff of the fragrant air, Aeris brightened as a plate of bacon neared her. "Thanks, Leon."

"Sure," waved off Leon as he began to make his own, taking periodic sips of his coffee. Aeris tucked into her food neatly, familiarising herself with the report whilst Sora looked on. He contemplated whether or not to ask her to explain what all the figures and jargon meant. But soon Aeris had finished the report, the bacon and two cups of coffee, and Sora had yet to say a word.

"Right, I'm out then," she said as she stood up.

"Careful," began Squall as he indicated the nearest window. "It looks like it might rain."

Aeris gave a wry half-smile. "Oh well, that's not so bad." She ran to her room. When she came back she had on a long coat, pure black. On the back was the crest of the _Black Sonata_; the coat was something each crewmember received. The crest consisted of a musical note in a wreath formed by two feathers, all done in pure white. She waved energetically as she ran past them towards the door and the outside nighttime world.

"Finish eating, Sora. Just because it's raining, doesn't mean you'll get an easy time of it tonight." Squall smirked evilly as he reviewed the training regimen for the day. Sora grimaced and finished eating.

_Fear the light and shadow but hearken to it and resist that which would turn you away. With the light your shadow may turn and overcome you; without it you are shadow, your heart is their heart and your mind their mind._


End file.
